Nearly 90% of All Remaining Big Boy Restaurants Are Here in Michigan

Where has Big Boy been?

Over the years locations have shuttered across the U.S. and most recently in Michigan we lost the beloved Pearl Street Big Boy as it was demolished to make room for a new soccer stadium. What's the future look like for Big Boy and his pal Dolly?

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There was a time when nearly 80% of all remaining Big Boy locations were in Michigan, but as businesses feel the lingering effects of supply chain issues, a shrinking workforce, and inflation and are closing their doors for good today that figure is more like 90%.

Origin of the Big Boy

In 1936 Big Boy founder Bob Wian purchased his first roadside food stand in Glendale, CA called it "Bob's Pantry." After a customer asked Bob for something a little different Bob got the idea to create the first double-decker cheeseburger. Customers came from far and wide to try Bob's double-decker including one movie studio animator who sketched the now-famous Big Boy mascot on a napkin.

When brothers John, Louis, and Fred Elias opened the restaurant's first franchise in Hazel Park, Michigan in 1952 they cemented Big Boy's future in the Mitten. By 1964 the brothers owned and operated over 100 stores in the Michigan-Ohio area. In 1987 they purchased the chain outright and eventually moved the company's headquarters to Michigan where it remains today.

As a kid my family used to visit the now-gone Big Boy in Plainwell, Michigan right next to US-131 where Taqueria San Francisco sits today. If your local Big Boy has closed here where you can find remaining locations across Michigan: